MUSIC SCENE: Lee Fields brings his brand of R&B back to Boston

Fields developed a love for all kinds of soul and R&B, and cites Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack and Wilson Pickett as among his biggest musical influences.

By Jay N. Miller/For The Patriot Ledger

“I like to think there’s a bit of truth in every song,” Lee Fields said, talking about his new album, “Special Night,” and how the 10 original songs all reflect different aspects of modern life.“The most important thing I learned over the years is to try and keep your hands on the pulse of what people are feeling, what they love to sing about,” Fields said from his New York City home.

Fields has been doing that for four-plus decades now, and he’ll be headlining Royale in Boston on Thursday with his six-piece backing band.

The new album is just out on Brooklyn’s Big Crown Records, which is affiliated with his previous label, Truth and Soul Records, and part of the extended Dap-Tone family that is perhaps most noted for being the musical home of the late Sharon Jones. Some of Jones’ first musical work was as a backup singer on Fields’ “Problems” album in 2002, and the two had become close friends. He admitted that her death last fall was a tough blow.

“Losing Sharon was a very sad event in my life,” Fields said. “There’s no doubt that took a lot out of me; we were like sister and brother. But you realize life must go on. I was so saddened, but I needed to bounce back and get back on track. My (just-completed) European tour helped get me back in gear, and I know that’s the way Sharon would’ve wanted it.”

It had been ironic that Jones, who shot to fame in the last decade of her life, became a big name in the United States, fronting the Dap-Kings big-band soul orchestra, while Fields had been a very popular artist in Europe but still a bit under the radar at home. Jones’ meteoric rise had begun with gigs like singing backup to Fields, and the Dap-Kings included several members of Fields’ former band, the Soul Providers. Those ties within the Dap-Tone Records family are still strong, and some of Fields’ current backing band, the Expressions, are former Dap-Kings.

Fields’ own lengthy career started when the North Carolina native was noticed for his facial resemblance to James Brown, and many of his first gigs were as “Little J.B.” Over time, Fields developed a love for all kinds of soul and R&B, and cites Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack and Wilson Pickett as among his biggest musical influences. But when the disco era hit, Fields stepped away from performing, making his living in real estate and shifting his musical interest to learning as much as he could about studio work.

But by the early 1990s, Fields had the singing bug again and began working on the Southern blues circuit. By 1996, he’d met and befriended the people who were forming Dap-Tone Records, and he and his Soul Providers were one of their first projects. Fields, now 65, became an almost immediate hit in Europe, and spent the bulk of his touring time over there. In the past few years, albums like 2009’s “My World,” and 2012’s “Faithful Man” have steadily built his profile in the States. When we first wrote about him in 2013, Fields was playing the Brighton Music Hall, but subsequently he moved up to The Sinclair in Cambridge in 2015, and now the spacious Royale, so his audience keeps growing.

Fields and his band made their national television debut in November on the “CBS This Morning” Saturday show. Earlier, in 2015, he had been part of E&J Brandy’s Generations of Soul project, in which he covered Raphael Saadiq’s “100 Yard Dash,” and Little Carl Carlton’s “Two Timer.”

The new album is a fine example of Fields’ own unique take on soul. He skillfully blends smooth melodies and buttery vocals, but with a touch of grit and edge when needed. His sextet works well to craft a classy, uptown kind of sound, and cuts like “Special Night” would remind listeners of classic Smokey Robinson, or perhaps soul crooner Johnny Taylor. But then a tune like “Lover Man” has a more earthy, Memphis-soul type of sound, and the bold anthem “Make the World Better” could’ve come from the later period of the legendary Temptations.

Fields is proudest of the variety of themes explored in his new album. He had a hand in writing all 10 songs.

“Either I had written these songs or co-wrote them in collaboration with The Expressions,” Fields said. “I’m proud to say these songs are all trying to say something relevant to now. The last two or three albums I’ve done, I’m having fun singing these songs. And it’s a good feeling to see how well these songs are being received – a beautiful thing for me, really. ‘Special Night,’ for example, is a tune where, with a lot of strange things happening in our world, I’m trying to remind people that they need to take time to tell their spouse or lover how they feel about them. That’s how you keep a relationship fresh: tell them every night with them is special, and don’t let that relationship become boring. Don’t let things turn hum-drum, make an effort to tell them how much they mean to you. That’s how you energize a relationship.

“The song “I’ve Got Work to Do” is about substance abuse. In this case it is about drinking, but it could be about any kind of substance problems, because that situation is causing an end to their relationship. What we’re trying to say in that tune is that sometimes you need to seek professional help, and you shouldn’t be too proud, and you shouldn’t be ashamed to let someone help you. Sometimes you need to let someone give you advice, and you have to be strong enough to take it.”

The song “Let Him In” deals with a friend whose lover has had enough of his shenanigans and is about to dump him. The Fields song takes the position of someone interceding and asking for another chance for his pal.

“She’s thinking about all he’s done wrong,” Fields noted. “And the song is saying maybe one more chance will be all it takes. People learn from their mistakes, but it might take more than one, and sometimes you just got to hang in there. That song is based on a true incident, and I’m happy to report that the couple is still together.”

Perhaps the most striking theme in a song on the album is “Make the World Better,” where Fields has created an infectious soul anthem exhorting people to try and make a difference.

“That song came to me in a dream. Actually it was two dreams,” Fields said. “I had a dream where I saw myself in the future, and the world was full of polluted waters and air, and there was anarchy in the streets. I woke up from that nightmare, gasping for breath. But when I went back to sleep, I had the same type dream again. But this time, the air and water was pure, and people were living in harmony, people of all races working together. It seemed like the Garden of Eden. I thought about that when I woke up, and began writing that song.

“We can make the world better. As humans, we are the only creatures on earth with the power to make things better. But we need to come together, with love, not malice. It is not a political song, just a reminder that love is the answer, and I believe we have to recognize that now. And I’m optimistic about it.”

And Fields is optimistic about playing this music in Boston again.

“I am anxious to get back there and play this new album for Boston fans,” Fields said. “People seem to be drawn to this music, and it’s given me a reason to want to get going again. There was so much love in the building when we played in Europe. I’m elated at the reception we’ve been getting, and excited to be back in the States. I’m hoping I can bring some joy to the audience there in Boston, and I’ll be singing a lot of my old songs, too.” LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS 9 p.m., Feb. 16 at Royale Nightclub, 279 Tremont St., Boston. The Shacks open. $15 in advance, and $18 on the day of, 617-336-7699, axs.com.